Entertainment Weekly's Jess Cagle Named Editor at People

People's managing editor, Larry Hackett, is exiting the magazine as Time Inc. restructures ahead of a planned spinoff.

Entertainment Weekly editor Jess Cagle has been named the editor of People magazine, Time Inc. executives David Geithner and Norman Pearlstine said in a Friday memo to employees.

In addition to the expanded role, Cagle will be editorial director at EW.People's managing editor, Larry Hackett, is exiting the magazine after eight years leading the publication. Time Inc. Style and Entertainment group editor Mark Golin is also exiting the publishing company.

Cagle has held multiple reporting and editing positions at Time Inc. publications over two decades and was hired as the top editor of EW in 2009.

People's print circulation is 3.5 million in 2013, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. The celebrity-focused title launched a premium section last fall to expand its subscription model. Along with People and EW, the Time Inc. Style and Entertainment group includes Essence and InStyle.

The editorial reorganization arrives as Time Inc. restructures itself in preparation for a spinoff from Time Warner later this year.

On July 22 of last year, Joseph Ripp was named the new CEO of Time Inc. Several months later, on Oct. 3, the company announced a shake-up of its corporate structure with the rehiring of former Time Inc. editor in chief Pearlstine, who had most recently been Bloomberg LP's chief content officer.

At the time, editor in chief Martha Nelson left the company, which had reorganized itself so that editorial teams would report to business-side group presidents.